Trooper Daniel Haley

On November 27, 2010 at approximately 4:00pm Trooper Daniel Haley was with his family at the Greeley Family FunPlex, a recreation center, when he saw three boys standing on ice covering a nearby pond. Trooper Haley suddenly saw one of the boys, 10 year old Brenndan Daviet, fall through the ice about 20 yards from shore. Trooper Haley immediately ran out to the pond and with great courage, began low crawling across the ice towards Brenndan. Trooper Haley was dressed in shorts, running shoes, a long sleeve t-shirt and down vest, adequate clothing for an unseasonably warm day, but not for exposure to freezing water. As he continued to crawl across the ice his concern was for Brenndan and for the other two boys who fortunately had not fallen through. As the other boys heeded his commands to slowly back away towards shore, the ice beneath Trooper Haley broke through as well, submerging him into the freezing water. Trooper Haley managed to reach Brenndan and found him to still be buoyant and able to maneuver himself with little assistance. However, as they moved to shore Brenndan’s clothing began to drag him under water. According to Trooper Haley’s wife Kirstin, a nurse at a local hospital, Brenndan went under water at least five times. Trooper Haley grabbed Brenndan and began to pull him to shore, yet Brenndan began to panic and struggle, nearly pulling both of them underwater! Once they reached the ice shelf, Trooper Haley could not push Brenndan or himself on top of the ice and began breaking the ice with his elbows while moving closer to shore.

Ultimately, Trooper Haley was able to get Brenndan back on the ice and onto shore. By this point Brenndan had been in the water for nearly five minutes and was hypothermic. While Kirstin began treating Brenndan for hypothermia, it took a few more minutes for Trooper Haley to pull himself onto the ice shelf. Trooper Haley spent nearly 10 minutes in the icy water as well.

Both Brenndan and Trooper Haley were taken to North Colorado Medical Center and treated for hypothermia, and both have since recovered. It is clear that Trooper Haley’s clear, calm, and decisive actions saved the life of Brenndan and possibly the other two boys on the ice. Trooper Haley later said he believed that delaying action would result in tragedy, yet he also understood the consequences of his actions. Responding officers from the Greeley Police Department and EMS personnel credit Trooper Haley with saving Brenndan’s life. It is clear that Trooper Haley’s clear, calm, and decisive actions saved the life of Brenndan and possibly the other two boys on the ice, and he is commended for his life saving actions.